Stocks were mixed in New York today as investors sought a direction for the market.

More signs of the improving business climate – better-than-expected holiday sales and Nokia’s latest fourth-quarter outlook – sent stocks moderately higher today.

Wall Street sprinted higher today as investors kept their faith in a strengthening economy despite Friday’s disappointing employment report. The Dow Jones industrials climbed 102 points to fall just shy of 10,000.

Wall Street surged ahead today, completing a remarkable 12-month period that saw the major indexes make a stunning rebound from the depths of the three-year-long bear market.

A batch of mixed earnings reports flustered Wall Street yesterday as investors searched in vain for strong evidence of a resurging economy by year’s end. Stocks lurched up and down before ending the session modestly higher.